BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Fresno Deputy Josh Lancaster was killed early Thursday when he was hit by a suspect fleeing police. His family believes he would still be alive if Sanger police would have notified other agencies of the pursuit.

Lancaster was working on another case when he was broadsided buy a suspect during a high-speed chase. Many believe his death could have easily been prevented.

Lancaster was a graduate of Foothill High and Bakersfield College. His mother, Cathy Slate, said he always wanted to be a cop.

"He knew from when he was 3 years old, when his father took him to a Dodger game and he saw the cops. He said, 'I want to be a top, I want to be a cop,'" Slate said.

His dream became a reality when he joined the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. In two years, he made detective.

On Thursday night, Lancaster was on his way home when an 18-year-old man and his pregnant 17-year-old girlfriend riding in a stolen car broadsided him.

Lancaster and the 17-year-old girl were killed. The 18-year-old man was critically hurt.

"My first thought is that my son died because of a stolen car," Slate said.

The two were being chased by Sanger police -- up to eight miles out of their jurisdiction.

The Sanger police, joined by the California Highway Patrol, never told other agencies of the 90-mile-an-hour pursuit.

If Lancaster knew of the chase, his aunt, Karen Howeth, and his mother believe he would still be alive, moving into his new home with his wife of one year.

"He should have been able to hear the traffic that was going on in his area," Slate said.

A Fresno County Sheriff's Department spokesman said they may make changes to the way different agencies in the area communicate with each other after this tragedy.

But Lancaster's family also wants something more -- an end to high-speed pursuits.

"Even before this I was against high-speed chases. It could have been you mom, daughter, anybody," Slate said.

The Sanger police refused to comment and the CHP said no one was available for comment.